We are back with the second edition of the Animators Guild India Fest 2023! Taking our celebration of the Indian Animation scene off the internet and bringing it to you live, on ground ! The AGIF23 is an exciting celebration of creativity. AGIF was created with the express desire to showcase a massive variety of genre defining short films and projects being produced throughout the world. From drama to action to horror to documentary, all genres in animation are accepted and originality is prized above all.
The audience for our film festival are a diverse and discerning group from the field of creative arts and design themselves. Originality and out of the box sensibilities are valued for submissions.
The films will be judged by a panel of industry experts, creative mavericks, designers, filmmakers, producers who know and love films. We are looking for dynamic scripts, direction and performances. Films that bring a fresh idea, perspective, technique into the fray. Films that you can't seem to pause, films that give you reason for pause.
We await your mind blowing, genre bending projects!
AGIF 23 FESTIVAL ROUND UP
ABOUT US
AGIF was created with the express desire to showcase a massive variety of genre defining short films and created projects being produced throughout the world. From drama to action to horror to documentary to animation, all genres are accepted and originality is prized above all.
The audiences for our film festival are a diverse and discerning group from the field of creative arts and design themselves. Originality, uniqueness and out of the box sensibilities are valued for submissions.
The films will be judged by a panel of designers, filmmakers, producers and creative people who know and love films.
We are looking for dynamic scripts, direction and performances. Films that have a good rhythm and no dead spots.
Industry leaders and experts will be participating in the AGIF and so in the near future, this fest aims to provide benefits to our participants within the field of broadcast media. We look to tap into the high demand for well curated and audience tested creative content among networks and platforms. Updates to be announced soon on our social media and website.
We await your mind blowing, genre bending projects!
SCHEDULE
9th December
10th December
AWARDS
1. BEST CHARACTER DESIGN FOR AN ANIMATION PROJECT
Winner
Kandittundu (Seen it) Adithi Krishnadas (Studio Eeksaurus)
Special Mention
VA Medimix Onam Film Seerow Unni (Euonians)
Finalists
Fallin Vatsal Bucha, Sudeep Kapoor
2. BEST CONCEPT ART FOR AN ANIMATION PROJECT
Winner
Kandittundu (Seen it) Adithi Krishnadas (Studio Eeksaurus)
Finalists
Play mate Sagarika Dam
Fallin Vatsal Bucha, Sudeep Kapoor
Fallin Vatsal Bucha, Sudeep Kapoor
3. BEST SOUND DESIGN FOR AN ANIMATED SHORT FILM
Winner
Lost Migrations - Sultana's Dream Aniruddh Menon, Sandhya
Visvanathan, Aditya Bharadwaj,
Shoumik Biswas (Spitting Image)
Visvanathan, Aditya Bharadwaj,
Shoumik Biswas (Spitting Image)
Finalists
Bhanyaat Bhanu Fulara, Vibhu Kapil
Kandittundu (Seen it) Adithi Krishnadas (Studio Eeksaurus)
Kandittundu (Seen it) Adithi Krishnadas (Studio Eeksaurus)
4. BEST SOUND DESIGN FOR AN ANIMATED COMMERCIAL PROJECT
Winner
Build Together - Including Young Men & Boys in the Gender Conversation Shruti Motta, Niranjan Kottukkal (LastBench Studio)
Special Mention
Good Bad Films - Motion Logo and Sound Design Anand Nair (4AM Worldwide)
Finalists
AVA Medimix Onam Film Seerow Unni (Euonians)
5. BEST AUGMENTED REALITY / VIRTUAL REALITY / IMMERSIVE MEDIA PROJECT
Winner
How am I here?! Mey Seifan
Finalists
BACARDÍ NH7 Weekender 2023- Festival Lineup Reveal Smit Shah (VORLDS)
Journey of a diamond Pratik Mayur Mehta
Journey of a diamond Pratik Mayur Mehta
6. BEST ANIMATED MUSIC VIDEO
Winner
DJ Piper - RIP TXL Raman Djafari
Special Mention
Ashnikko - Worms Raman Djafari
Finalists
Alchemy - Woh Nahin Aayenge (Official Video) Visakh P K (Carmond Infinity)
The Short Hand Shimon Engel, Julia Scherer, Ofer Winter
The Short Hand Shimon Engel, Julia Scherer, Ofer Winter
7. BEST ANIMATED SERIES (Web / TV)
Special Mention
Piku n Tuki Pushan Chakravarty (Tip Tales)
Finalists
Sudha Murty-s Stories of Wit and Magic - Skills For A Prince Niloy Kanti Biswas (Wackytoons)
The Sters Shrobontika Dasgupta
The Sters Shrobontika Dasgupta
8. BEST ANIMATED COMMERCIAL PROJECTS
Winner
Introducing LEGO NINJAGO to Indian Kids & Parents Kushal Bhor, Prasad Kelkar (Post Office Studios)
Finalists
Mammotty Kampany Signature Film Seerow Unni (Euonians)
Apollo x Tendulkar = Apol10 Plankton Collective
Apollo x Tendulkar = Apol10 Plankton Collective
9. BEST STUDENT ANIMATED FILM
Winner
The Nighthawk Is Not a Hawk WANG Junjie
Special Mention
Railgari Angshuman Dhar
Finalists
NIRJARA Gaurav Pati
Kasang Alun Krishnabh Thengal
Kasang Alun Krishnabh Thengal
10. BEST ANIMATED SHORT FILM (under 45 minutes)
Winner
The Rat Yuanqing Cai
Special Mention
The Lovely Sky Amir Mehran
Finalists
Anita, Lost in the News Behzad Nalbandi
Homeward Journey Youyang Kong
Homeward Journey Youyang Kong
11. RISING STAR STUDENT AWARD
Winner
Yugesh TR
Finalists
Jignesh Chavda
Akshara CV
Sarthak S Shambhatnavar
Akshara CV
Sarthak S Shambhatnavar
12. AGI PICK OF THE YEAR
Winner
The Smile Erik van Schaaik
दरिया के उस पार
CATEGORIES
* Best Student Animated Film
* Best Animated Short Film (under 45 min)
* Best Animated Commercial Project
* Best Animated Series ( Web / TV )
* Best Animated Music Video
* Best Character Design for an Animated Project
* Best Concept Art for an Animated Project
* Best Sound Design for an Animated Short Film
* Best Sound Design for an Animated Commercial Project
* Best Augmented Reality / Virtual Reality / Immersive Media
* AGIF2023 Rising Star (Student) Award (for Indian citizens only)
* AGI PICK OF THE YEAR AWARD
SELECTION CRITERIA
1. The Selection Committee decides on the selections for each category.
2. The committee will decide if films/ art / entries/ or music videos are accepted based on the following criteria:
• Artistic originality
• Educational impact
• Artistic excellence in story, concept, design, animation, and music.
• Artistic originality
• Educational impact
• Artistic excellence in story, concept, design, animation, and music.
3. All applicants having submitted a film for pre-selection shall be informed prior to the opening of the Festival if his or her film has been selected for participation in the official Festival program.
4. The Festival is not obligated to supply a reason as to why a film has not been selected as part of the Festival competition.
1. There is a fee to submit your film for consideration to the Animators Guild India Fest 2023. Any entry, animated film or music video, including computer-generated animation and combinations of live-action, technology, NFT, AR, VR, that are completed after January 01, 2022, can participate. (category specific exceptions, if any, are mentioned under each submission category)
2. For pre-selection and selection purposes, the entries must be submitted through FilmFreeway.com.
3. The selection committee will be the only authorised festival staff to have access to the film files.
4. All the information required of you from the submission portal should be fulfilled, that being:
* Contact information (name, phone number, and email),
* Credits,
* Specifications,
* Long and short synopsis,
* Screenings and awards,
* Director’s biography and filmography,
* Film stills and poster,
* Cover Letter
5. All films that are not in the English language should have English subtitling, otherwise, they will not be considered.
1. All the accepted and rejected films shall be informed about their participation in the festival by the [Date of announcements].
2. In the event your film gets selected to be part of the competition program, the authorized film distributor is required to send a screening HD file format of the film online. The specifics of the required screening format will be sent together with the email announcing the selection of the film.
3. All files should be sent digitally, and the due date for all materials is to be set in the official email.
4. All films must be presented in Original Language and must be subtitled in English (if not otherwise specified). Subtitling expenses are the sole responsibility of the film’s Producer.
5. The Festival will use all materials for promotional purposes and in order to compile the Festival catalogue. The Festival bears no responsibility for published inaccuracies in the original submission materials.
6. The awards ceremony will take place on the last day of the festival. If possible, a film representative (the Director or the Producer) of the awarded films shall be present for the ceremony done online. If it is not possible for a representative to be present, the Festival will kindly request that he or she makes a short videotaped acceptance speech to be played during the online award ceremony.
1. All the images, stills, trailers, making of, and sketches, will be used as promotional material on our social media channels and website.
2. If your film gets selected, the festival has a right to use up to 40 seconds of the film/trailer for promotional purposes on the AGIF Website, Instagram, Vimeo, YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp.
1. Once a film has been selected and invited to participate in the festival, said selected film cannot be withdrawn from the festival program.
2. The festival does not pay screening fees for any film in the program, being that short, feature, live action, NFT, AR, VR or Branding Design or any of its categories.
3. AGIF is entitled to screen any film selected for AGIF competitions in 2022 as part of its non-profit educational activities throughout 2022 and 2023, within programs such as ‘Winners of AGIF 2022” and “Best of AGIF 2022”, without paying any film license fees for these activities.
• The jury will award 12 categories with a category winner in each along with special recognition for 3 finalists, from a selection of global submissions.
• The 12 winners shall be awarded a trophy, a digital certificate and goody bag*.
• The 3 finalists in each category will be awarded digital certificates.
• 1 audience awards open to polls during the on-ground festival. Winner shall be awarded a trophy, digital certificate and a goody bag.*
• 1 special award - the AGI Pick of the Year - selected by the festival team. Winner shall be awarded a trophy, digital certificate and a goody bag.*
• 2 special award categories, Rising Star & Rising Young Gun reserved for rising talent from India only. Winners in the category will be awarded a trophy, digital certificate, goody bag, and a prize of INR 50,000.**
• The juries reserve the right not to award a prize, but can only award the prizes listed.
• The awards will be distributed in person at the festival. For express shipping in case of out-station candidates, special request to be raised. Shipping to be paid extra by winners outside India.
*As per festival terms and conditions
All winners shall be announced on the Animators Guild India Fest website. The prizes shall include a digital certificate for all categories. We can share a physical certificate at the event or on special request mail a physical copy of the certificate via national mail to the winner.
For the Rising Star (Student and Young Gun) Awards a cash prize of upto ₹50,000 each.
Lifetime Achievement Award shall receive a certificate and trophy.
JUDGES
NINA SABNANI is a well known name in Indian Animation. A filmmaker, illustrator and an educator, she not only established but led the animation departments at some of the most prestigious design schools in the country (NID, IDC). Currently she is an adjunct professor at Srishti Manipal Institute, Bangalore and at UPES, Dehradun.
Her practice is deeply rooted in ethnography, shaped by an interest in novel storytelling techniques through collaborations with diverse artisan communities. Her filmography includes several award-winning films borne of these collaborations. Her latest film ‘Hum Chitra Banate Hain’ (We make images), made in collaboration with the Bhil artist Sher Singh from Madhya Pradesh won her the national award (Rajat Kamal) for Best Animation Film, awarded by the President of India in 2017. She is also the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Illustration by Tata Trust (2018) and The Legend of Indian Animation Award by Toonz Media (2021).
We are thrilled to have her on our panel of judges for AGIF2023
PETER SLUSZKA is an award-winning director with strong roots in stop motion and over 20 years of perfecting his craft. He has directed everything from original content animation to music videos to commercials and features. Not only has his work garnered plenty of accolades (Clio Awards, D&AD, Annies), but he continues to push boundaries to the most delightful dimensions in everything he does, working with a host of unusual material in his films. He is the director of the multi-award winning film ‘Hard Boiled’ - a gritty and hilarious satirical stop motion crime drama - that had its India Premiere at our very own AGIF2022.
We are thrilled to have Peter back this year as one of our esteemed jury members for AGIF2023.
SHEETAL SUDHIR is a multi-disciplinary creative brand strategist and an entrepreneur.
She went from her role as SVP Network and Brand Creative Director at Star India to starting her own firm, Dynamite Design in 2011. Twelve years on, Dynamite Design has expanded its clientele from Indian media companies to global digital powerhouse platforms like Netflix, Prime Video and Meta. Under Sheetal's leadership, Dynamite has bagged numerous design awards including PromaxBDA and Kyoorius, and featured in leading design publications.
She has been a guest lecturer at prestigious educational institutions like NID, Ahmedabad & Parsons School of Design, New York.
We are thrilled to have Sheetal join us this year as one of our esteemed jury members for AGIF2023.
PRAKASH MOORTHY is the ultimate creative shapeshifter: writer, artist, filmmaker, art director and thinker.
Presently he is an adjunct professor at Unitedworld Institute of Design (UID). He has taught Animation at design schools across India, such as National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad, Srishti Institute of Art, Design and Technology & Satyajit Ray Films and Television Institute (SRFTI). He’s also designed the Animation curriculum at SRFTI.
Moorthy did Production Design of “Raison de Coeur”, a Swiss feature film directed by Markus Imhoof in 1996-97 and of ‘Vanaprastham’, feature film directed by Shaji N Karun in 1999, for which he won the award for Best Art Direction at Dubai Film Festival. From working as an Art Director, heading animation for Sesame Street, India to designing wildlife interpretation centres at the Rajamalai and Munnar wildlife sanctuaries, Moorthy's career has been diverse and prolific. His published works include ‘Animating an Indian Story’ (NID), ‘Satyajit’, and ‘Secrets of Lothal’ - a comic for Institute of Children’s Literature. He has also been a contributor to the graphic anthology ‘Longform’ and ‘Indian Quarterly’.
We are thrilled to have Moorthy on our panel of judges for AGIF2023
ARTUR DNEPROVSKII is a passionate Creative Producer and Scriptwriter in children's entertainment, and CEO of "Big Papa" Production Company. He is the creative genius behind several viral children's content, such as 'Kote Kitty', 'Blue Tractor', and 'Kukutiki', which collectively amassed 50 million daily and 1.5 billion monthly views on YouTube. These cartoons hold the top position in CIS countries and are rapidly gaining popularity in India, the United States, and Europe.
Artur creates, produces, and leads engaging kids' shows that have profoundly impacted the lives of millions globally.
His mission is to spread joy and inspire young hearts through engaging kids' content. He believes that entertainment should go beyond fun—it should be a vehicle for learning and growth.
We are thrilled to have him on our panel of judges for AGIF2023
NOSIPHO MAKETO-VAN DEN BRAGT is the owner of "Chocolate Tribe", an award winning visual effects and animation studio based in Johannesburg, South Africa. Nosipho's exciting journey started from corporate law - her love for storytelling led her to the world of animation where worked for clients like BBC and Netflix UK. She is also the founder of AVIJOZI - an animation festival in Johannesburg. She's a mentor and guide and is passionate about what goes into fostering an equal, open and vibrant creative space for people.
We are thrilled to have Nosipho join us this year as one of our esteemed jury members for AGIF2023.
We are thrilled to have Nosipho on our panel of judges for AGIF2023
